Henry raised his eyebrows, a slightly puzzled expression appearing on his face.
"Really? Maybe you've seen me somewhere else."
Who could possibly recognize me?
For a brief moment, Henry's thoughts became a little self-important.
He had only recently arrived in this world, and although his audition had gone viral, he hadn't exactly reached the point where strangers should be recognizing him everywhere.
Could she have recognized me as the singer of "Never Gonna Give You Up"?
That possibility crossed his mind.
If that's the case, this could become a hassle.
The woman looked at him for a few seconds, her eyes glancing over his face several times as though she were trying to connect him to a memory that refused to come back. Eventually, she shook her head.
"Sorry. It was my mistake. I don't seem to remember you."
Henry's smile froze for half a second.
"It's fine."
He maintained his polite smile, but inwardly, he felt as though someone had poured cold water over his head.
...So much for being recognized.
His brief moment of self-importance had been thoroughly humbled.
Henry decided not to engage in any further conversation and simply returned his attention to his workstation.
Since he hadn't been assigned any work yet, he leaned back in his chair and pulled out his phone. After remembering the conversation he'd overheard, his curiosity got the better of him.
He opened the official Chirp account for Rookie of the Century.
Let's see how things are going.
The first post that appeared was the official announcement regarding his withdrawal.
The message was carefully worded, filled with polite apologies and vague explanations about "unforeseen circumstances" and "factors beyond the participant's control." It expressed the program's regret that Henry Stevens would no longer be participating in the upcoming stages of the competition and thanked viewers for their continued support.
Henry stared at the announcement.
"...Damn."
They had really made it official.
He scrolled down.
The comment section was already exploding.
@MusicLover92:
"WAIT. WHAT?! HENRY QUIT?!"
@JennyMusic:
"NOOOOO! He was literally my favorite!"
@OldSchoolFan:
"So the guy who ranked first suddenly withdraws? Yeah, sure. Nothing suspicious about that."
@PopNoMore:
"Bro carried the audition episode and then disappeared. đź’€"
@MelodyQueen:
"I don't care what happened. I just want another song from Henry!"
@RandomGuy247:
"Someone explain how the BEST contestant in the competition suddenly has to leave."
@ChirpDetective:
"Unforeseen circumstances = someone powerful probably made a phone call."
Henry couldn't help chuckling at that one.
He continued scrolling.
The farther he went, the angrier the comments became.
A surprising number of viewers had already started questioning RockMedia's involvement.
@TruthSeeker:
"Am I the only one who thinks RockMedia has something to do with this?"
@MusicFanatic:
"Didn't Henry used to be signed to RockMedia? And didn't they kick him out before the show? Now he's suddenly the top-ranked contestant and suddenly withdraws?"
@RockAndRoll:
"RockMedia better explain themselves."
@AnneFanNoMore:
"Didn't RockMedia's artist Anne compete against him? This whole thing is getting weird."
@NoMorePolitics:
"If RockMedia had anything to do with this, I'm done supporting them."
@JustHereForMusic:
"First they get rid of him, then he comes back and destroys everyone with one song, and now he mysteriously disappears. This sounds like a business meeting from hell."
Henry slowly scrolled through the comments, his expression becoming increasingly amused.
He couldn't lie to himself.
Seeing so many people defending him felt... good.
Very good.
Especially after spending the past few days being pushed around by people who had treated him as though he had no right to decide his own future.
Henry's lips curled into a faint smile.
Keep talking.
He wasn't naive enough to believe angry comments on Chirp could bring down a major entertainment company.
But it was still satisfying to see people questioning what had happened.
As for RockMedia...
Henry's eyes narrowed slightly.
Sooner or later, you bastards will pay for this.
He wasn't planning to rush anything.
There was no need.
A gentleman's revenge was best served after he had enough strength to make sure the person receiving it couldn't ignore it.
I'll remember everything.
Henry continued doom-scrolling for a while longer, reading comments, arguments, conspiracy theories, memes, and increasingly ridiculous speculation about why he'd left the show.
Eventually, however, even he became bored.
That's enough.
Just as he was about to put his phone away, Sarah walked over.
She lightly gestured toward the hallway.
"Come with me to the meeting room."
Henry immediately put his phone down and stood.
"Okay."
He had barely taken two steps when he noticed the female colleague sitting across from him looking in his direction.
There was something strange about her expression.
She looked almost... sympathetic.
She sighed.
"You."
Henry stopped and turned around with a confused expression.
"Is something wrong?"
His colleague hesitated before lowering her voice.
"When you get to the meeting room, you'd better not talk too much."
Henry blinked.
"Why?"
She glanced toward the hallway before answering.
"The director of the composition department, Mr. Victor, has been holding back these past few days."
Her expression became slightly worried.
"If he gets angry, don't give him an excuse to take it out on you."
Henry's eyebrows rose.
What did I walk into?
The woman didn't explain any further.
She simply gave him another sympathetic look before returning to her work.
Henry wasn't sure what was waiting for him in that meeting room, but he didn't think asking questions here would help.
"Thanks for the warning."
He gave her a polite nod.
Anyway, he wasn't exactly the type to talk too much in the first place.
And as the newest employee in the department, keeping a low profile was probably the smartest thing he could do.
With that thought, Henry turned and followed Sarah toward the meeting room.
The female colleague watched his retreating figure for a few seconds before quietly sighing.
She really hoped the new guy wouldn't have a terrible first day..
The female colleague shook her head slightly: "I don't know what Director Sarah was thinking, calling him over. Isn't that just asking for trouble?"
Another colleague sitting next to her smiled: "susan, what's wrong? Why are you so concerned about this new guy?"
"You don't happen to have a crush on him, do you? But I have to say, he's quite good-looking."
Susan rolled her eyes: "Come on, I was just trying to be helpful. How could I possibly be interested in him?"
"Didn't you see what he's wearing? All cheap brands, and his phone looks like it's holding on it's dear life."
The other person nodded: "That's true. Judging by his appearance, he doesn't seem to have any status, background, or wealth. He's definitely not someone you'd be interested in."
Susan shook her head slightly as she watched Henry disappear down the hallway with Sarah.
"I don't know what Director Sarah was thinking, calling him over now. Isn't that just asking for trouble?"
The colleague sitting beside her turned with an amused smile.
"Susan, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly so concerned about this new guy?"
She leaned closer, lowering her voice teasingly.
"You don't happen to have a crush on him, do you?"
Her eyes followed Henry for a moment before she added with a grin, "Although, I have to admit, he's pretty good-looking."
Susan immediately rolled her eyes.
"Come on. I was just trying to be helpful. How could I possibly be interested in him?"
She glanced toward Henry's retreating figure and snorted.
"Didn't you see what he's wearing? Those clothes are obviously cheap brands, and that phone of his looks like it's barely holding itself together."
Her colleague looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.
"That's true. Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to have much status, background, or wealth. He's definitely not the type you'd normally be interested in."
Susan nodded.
"Exactly."
She paused before her expression became slightly sympathetic.
"But he's still pretty pitiful."
Her colleague raised an eyebrow.
"Pitiful?"
"You know what Director Victor has been like lately."
Susan glanced toward the conference room.
"The theme song the composition department submitted for that movie was rejected by the director again. We've already missed several revisions, and the deadline is getting closer. Director Victor has been fuming about it for days."
Her colleague's expression changed slightly.
"So you think the new guy is walking into that?"
"Exactly."
Susan sighed.
"If he goes in there now, he might end up taking the blame simply because he's the newest person around."
She shook her head.
"Think about it. Everyone else in that room is an experienced composer. Then suddenly, some newcomer walks in while Director Victor is already furious. Do you really think Victor is going to be in the mood to welcome him?"
Her colleague couldn't help laughing.
"That's actually pretty unlucky."
"That's not even the worst part."
Susan lowered her voice again.
"The movie director rejected several of their submissions because they weren't good enough. The deadline is approaching, and everyone is under pressure. It's not like this new guy can magically sit down, write a masterpiece, and save the project."
She shrugged.
"Why would anyone expect a newcomer to solve a problem that all those senior composers couldn't solve?"
The two women exchanged glances.
After a few more words, their conversation gradually died down, and they returned to their work.
Neither seemed particularly interested in Henry's fate anymore.
After all, to them, he was just a new employee who had happened to walk into a bad situation.
---
Henry followed Sarah down the hallway toward the conference room.
The moment Sarah opened the door, the atmosphere changed.
A heavy silence seemed to hang in the air.
Henry stepped inside and immediately noticed more than twenty people seated around the large conference table. Most had laptops open in front of them, while several others had printed documents spread across the table.
Nobody was smiling.
Nobody was talking.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for something.
At the head of the table sat a short, stout middle-aged man.
His face was dark with anger.
This was Victor, the director of the composition department.
Victor's thick eyebrows were pulled together, and his fingers were clenched tightly against the tabletop. His face was flushed from anger, and the veins on his forehead stood out slightly.
Then—
Bang!
Victor slammed his fist onto the table.
"You're all senior composers here!"
His voice thundered through the room.
"I don't care if you're free to come and go as you please. I don't care if you occasionally slack off, take naps, play games, or spend half the day staring at the ceiling looking for inspiration!"
Several composers lowered their heads.
Victor pointed angrily at the laptops and documents scattered across the table.
"I've always given you that freedom because I trusted you to produce results when it actually mattered!"
His voice rose.
"But now, look at what you've produced!"
Nobody dared answer.
Victor's expression became even uglier.
"Garbage!"
The single word echoed through the conference room.
"I gave you a month to write a theme song for this movie. One month!"
He swept his hand across the table.
"And what have you done? Generic melodies! Forgettable lyrics! Songs that sound like they've been copied from every mediocre movie theme released in the past five years!"
His breathing became heavier.
"Every single submission has been rejected!"
One of the senior composers shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Victor immediately noticed.
"Don't look away!"
The man froze.
"You know I'm right!"
Victor slammed his palm against the table this time.
"The movie director needs the final song soon. The deadline is approaching, and I'm still sitting here with nothing I can confidently send to them!"
The room became deathly quiet.
Victor looked around at the assembled composers.
"I wonder if any of you still want to work here!"
Nobody answered.
"If you can't do the job, then get out!"
His voice was practically a roar now.
"I think you'd be better off cleaning the toilets!"
He pointed toward the door.
"And while you're at it, maybe clean the shit out of your heads too!"
The composers remained silent.
Nobody dared argue.
Victor was furious, and everyone in the room knew better than to become his next target.
It was at that moment that Sarah and Henry stood quietly near the entrance.
Victor hadn't noticed them yet.
Henry looked around the room.
...So this is what my colleague meant.
He suddenly understood why Susan had looked at him with pity.
He had arrived at Silver Records less than an hour ago.
He hadn't even gotten comfortable in his new chair.
And somehow, he had already walked directly into the middle of a department-wide crisis.
Henry couldn't help thinking that his timing was almost impressive.
I really know how to pick the right moment to show up.
Beside him, Sarah cleared her throat.
"Director Victor."
Victor's furious expression shifted slightly as he turned toward the door.
His eyes first landed on Sarah.
Then moved to Henry.
The room fell even quieter.
For the first time, Victor looked directly at the newcomer who had just entered his already terrible day.